The Memphis Grizzlies have done well in almost every facet of the game. Not unlike other teams, they’ve been the recipient of a couple of beat downs, but overall, they’ve done a strong job maintaining a place in the playoff hunt without Jaren Jackson Jr.
Even after a heartbreaking loss to the Bucks in their last game before the All-Star break, this team has to feel good about where they’re at. They were in position for a comeback win against one of the best teams in the league.
But there has been an issue that has been nagging the Grizzlies for the entire second half of the first half of the season.
The Memphis Grizzlies can’t shoot or defend against the three-ball
The Grizzlies have been struggling badly against the 3-point shot. Things have improved in recent games, but for a long stretch, they were allowing a huge amount of long-balls in a league where that simply won’t cut it.
Taylor Jenkins’ team is in the bottom ten in the league when you look at opponent 3-point percentage and opponent 3-pointers made per game. Just a few weeks ago, this team was in the middle of the pack.
It’s hard to say what exactly has led to this sudden defensive implosion, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. With the return of Jaren Jackson Jr., this team will not have to put as much emphasis on controlling the paint, which should lead to better perimeter defense.
The Grizz also have Justise Winslow finally settling into the lineup. Even with a small handful of games under his belt, he has already become a top-3 defender on this squad. He’s clearly made a difference, as the Grizzlies have played strong games in every outing that he has seen time on the court.
The 3-point problem extends to both ends of the Memphis Grizzlies’ game
But Winslow won’t help an even bigger issue that Taylor Jenkins’ team is struggling with. That issues resides in the same part of the game on a different side of the court. Despite starting the year strong, even spending some time as a top ten 3-point shooting percentage team, this squad has blundered their abilities to shoot the ball.
Again, it’s hard to say what happened here, but guys just can’t seem to get their shots to drop. The team has plenty of shooting potential, it just seems like the shots aren’t falling.
Take Ja Morant for example. He has improved in every facet of the game, but his 3-point shooting percentage has dropped by over 10% from a year ago. Overall, the team’s shooting percentage as a whole has not dropped drastically, but the primary scorers haven’t been able to hit long range shots.
This does make the solution simple though: get Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant into a groove. These guys are the top two scorers on the team and are the only primary contributors who have seen a significant drop in their 3-point shooting.
The return of JJJ will help, making the Grizzlies will be a scary team once they get it all together.